Fuel Depots, Stations Unsafe?

Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD), Mr Senyo Hosi has called for a nationwide Safety and Storage Facility Integrity Audit of all fuel filling stations and storage facilities such as private fuel dumps, tank farms and surface tanks.

According to him, the fuel leakage which resulted in the explosion at THE GOIL filling station at Kwame Nkrumah Circle last Wednesday suggests that the current safety standards governing the industry are inadequate, resulting in a major gap.

Speaking to The Finder in an interview, Mr Hosi explained that the leakage that resulted in the explosion may not necessarily be from GOIL but could possibly come from adjoining fuel filling stations or some facility in the area.

However, he was of the view that the volume of spillage suggests that the leakage came from a storage facility, saying: “This should not in any way happen.”

He explained that the nationwide Safety and Storage Facility Integrity Audit was necessary to forestall any future occurrence.

He stated that the country should take advantage of this unfortunate incident to development common safety operating procedures for the industry.

Mr Hosi was of the view that safety standards are not thorough and, therefore, need some modifications for effective co-ordination.

Public Relations Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mr Yaro Kasambata, in reaction, said his organisation welcomes the call any day any time.

However, he said Safety and Storage Facility Integrity Audit would only be necessary if it is established that the explosion happened because the underground tank was undermined.

However, he argued that is yet to be established. 

He explained that calibration companies licensed by the NPA carry out pressure tests on tanks to determine whether they are good or not.

According to him, the test is done once every five years, and when asked why, he said, “If you subject the tank to too many tests, you will undermine its integrity.”

For Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Mr Kasambata said a Non-Destructive Test (NDT) is conducted by the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) twice every year.

However, experts believe that if there were safety procedures for floods at fillings stations and storage facilities, individuals would not be allowed to congregate there in the first place.

According to them, the safety standards would stipulate that filling stations that suspect leakage should not be allowed to operate.

One question being asked is whether state agencies would fully investigate this explosion when GOIL is a state-owned company.

The effectiveness of the NPA, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Ministry of Energy has also been called into question.

Havets gas filling station explosion at Dansoman

Two victim of the recent gas explosion at Dansoman in Accra have died. 

The filling station itself has since been closed down and an investigative team set up by the Environmental Protection Agency to find out how the accident happened and how future incidents can be prevented.